(Based on the admittedly scant information on Robert Miller's registry - thanks for posting the link, Ducwiz), those numbers suggest a TS from 1962 (or '63), the two closest being:

Frame (0)7731Engine 07667Model TSDate 1962

Frame 08613Engine 08178Model TSDate 1965

(I've chosen to discount the record for a claimed 1958 Sport with frame 08615 and engine number 07983).

Interesting.

The 'books' all seem to say that those two models finished in 1960 or 61, noteably with the introduction of the Type B engine. However, most of these texts are written from the prospective of the foreign market. So I suspect that, as with the 125, the 175 continued to be made after those dates for the domestic market.

Did the previous owner know where the bike came from? Was it perhaps a private import into the UK?

Yes, there seems to be some conflicting information out there on the internet. I'll need to get a dating letter which the DVLA will accept, so I have contacted Ducati in the first instance (which the DVLA apparently insist on) and also the Ducati marque specialist in the VMCC. He is Italian and says he can date it from photographs.

The guy I am buying it from imported it in 1995, having bought it in Milan. Among the paperwork is the bill of sale, so I will have a good read through everything when I pick the bike up next weekend.

ranton_rambler wrote:Yes, there seems to be some conflicting information out there on the internet.

Well, many of the bikes from this period aren't especially well documented. Numerous reasons for this, not least that things simply weren't done that way at the time. Also Ducati has been thru umpteen changes of ownership over the years, with many records being lost/destroyed/forgotten along the way. Ian Falloon discovered loads of production records, mainly concerning the Twins, that had simply been forgotten about, locked away in a dark and deserted part of the factory. There was also a big fire at the factory in the early '70s.

Plus there's the fact that most authors on Ducati work from a restricted knowledge base, often from what they remember from their time, of what happened in their country. So some of the nuances of production can be overlooked - viz. the differing views of Tom Bailey and Mick Walker.

But it all adds to the interest ...

ranton_rambler wrote:I'll need to get a dating letter which the DVLA will accept, so I have contacted Ducati in the first instance ...

Livio Lodi is the man to speak to. These days, he's the curator of the museum - but he started working on the line at Ducati in 1987!

ranton_rambler wrote:The guy I am buying it from imported it in 1995, having bought it in Milan.

Yup, that makes sense. Btw, since I sent my previous message, I've found this advert for a 1962 175TS, currently on sale in Italy. This dating would support the contention that the model was still being produced in 1962.

Not sure what the plan is yet, but may be clearer when I've looked through the parts properly.Initial idea was to build it up in a scrambler style for the local VMCC runs which use a lot of Peak District lanes, but could go for a nice restoration, or maybe minimum work to get it on the road in 'oily rag' condition.VMCC marque expert says it's 1960.